In Africa, French is more than a common language

PM Fillon announces improved growth forecast

Prime Minister François Fillon says he expects the French economy to shrink by 2.25% in 2009 (down from a previous forecast of 3%), and resume growing by 0.75% next year. Yet, while the economy is no longer contracting, it is still shedding jobs.

AFP - France's economy will shrink by only 2.25 percent this year rather than by 3.0 percent as forecast and will return to positive growth in 2010, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Thursday.

"The crisis isn't over. The crisis won't be over until unemployment starts to come down. But we have a landscape that is evolving positively," he said, predicting that the French economy will grow by 0.75 percent next year.

"The recovery is coming into view. It's fragile but I think the shoots are there," he added, in a speech to business leaders.

Last week, the French central bank forecast that the economy would expand by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of this year, confirming a trend that had seen it emerge from a year-long recession in the second quarter.

Despite signs of recovery, however, the jobless total has continued to rise, albeit more slowly after the number of jobseekers increased by more than 25 percent between June 2008 and June 2009 to more than 2.5 million.